Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times / Lifestyle

Social sport cheerleader

Bay News
1 Feb, 2018 02:39 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Will Johnston. Photo/George Novak

Will Johnston. Photo/George Novak

Upstairs For Beers.

That's the intention-rich name of the touch rugby team I play for! We head directly up to the clubrooms for a 'stringent' liquid debrief after our mid-week social touch game. I love social sport.

There's something about playing sport with a group of mates, giving it a real good crack on the field but also having a laugh at it when it all goes horribly wrong! Or at someone when they screw it up a little (frequently I'm the subject of this — think baby giraffe running), or even at the other team. Because they are usually laughing at themselves too!

I'm a super competitive person, but it really did take me until my 30s to learn that competitive doesn't mean you can't enjoy the whole process and even find good in the losses. Last season we didn't win a single game — we played 21 year olds.

That was never going to end well for us, the majority in our early 30s, butI loved pretty much every minute of it. I was competitive with myself —I wanted to get better each week, or atleastlearn something aboutthe game, and if we lost it didn't matter, because I felt like I was improving each week. By improving I mean I only left ONE of my lungs on the field at the end of each game by the end ofthe season.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This season we dropped a grade and we've had a couple of wins. I've even scored tries, though every timeIscore I still wait for a whistle and someone to tell me I'm being punked!

We even have a fan base. He turns up every week. He's pretty vocal and always stoked with our performance. He's the son of a couple of team members and he's a baby. I like to think if he had a choice he'd turn up too! What a part of the world we live in for summer social sport opportunities.

■ Will Johnston is host of The Hits 95FM Day Show. Live and local from 9am-3pm, every weekday in the Bay of Plenty.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Bay of Plenty Times

‘Privilege’ in the skies: Veteran pilots keep Anzac flyover tradition alive

24 Apr 04:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Jazz takes over Tauranga at the 63rd National Jazz Festival

30 Mar 01:09 AM
Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

Rural retreats chase booming wellness tourism dollar in Bay

21 Mar 10:02 PM

Sponsored

Endangered bird gets another chance

21 Apr 02:30 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

‘Privilege’ in the skies: Veteran pilots keep Anzac flyover tradition alive
Bay of Plenty Times

‘Privilege’ in the skies: Veteran pilots keep Anzac flyover tradition alive

This year the flyover will feature two Yak-52 Russian trainer aircraft.

24 Apr 04:00 AM
Jazz takes over Tauranga at the 63rd National Jazz Festival
Bay of Plenty Times

Jazz takes over Tauranga at the 63rd National Jazz Festival

30 Mar 01:09 AM
Premium
Premium
Rural retreats chase booming wellness tourism dollar in Bay
Bay of Plenty Times

Rural retreats chase booming wellness tourism dollar in Bay

21 Mar 10:02 PM


Endangered bird gets another chance
Sponsored

Endangered bird gets another chance

21 Apr 02:30 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP